Disc toss putting game and method of playing

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a disc toss putting game and method of playing the game. The game involves the use of a game target, at least one disc for tossing at the game target, at least one golf ball, and at least one ball striking implement such as a putter. The game is played by one or more players who initially place the game target at a desired location. Then, each player tosses his disc at the target. The location where each player&#39;s disc lands determines where each player must putt from, if required, to complete the hole. The players can continue to repeatedly play the same hole or can move the target to other locations for different holes. The game target can have markings which make it easy for the players to determine where to putt a ball from and the game may include a mat with markings to facilitate target and ball placement and to identify the disc tossing location.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a disc toss putting game and method ofplaying the game. The game involves the use of a game target, at leastone disc for tossing at the game target, at least one golf ball, and atleast one ball striking implement such as a putter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a disc toss putting game and method ofplaying the game. The game involves the use of a game target, at leastone disc for tossing at the game target, at least one golf ball, and atleast one ball striking implement such as a putter. The game is playedby one or more players who initially place the game target at a desiredlocation. Then, each player tosses his disc at the target. The locationwhere each player's disc lands determines where each player must puttfrom, if required, to complete the hole. The players can continue torepeatedly play the same hole or can move the target to other locationsfor different holes.

The game target can have markings which make it easy for the players todetermine where to putt a ball from and the game may include a mat withmarkings to facilitate target and ball placement and to identify thedisc tossing location.

More particularly, the present invention comprises a disc toss puttinggame including a game target having an inclined face and a back memberextending downward from a top edge of the face, the face having anopening therein; at least one disc, said at least one disc being sizedsuch that it can be received entirely within said opening; and at leastone golf ball. Most preferably, the inclined face has a length of about12 inches and a width of about 12 inches; the opening has a diameter ofabout 3 inches, is centered along the face width, and centered alongsaid face length at a location about 7½ inches from a front edge; andwhere the back member has a height of about 2 inches. Most preferably,the disc has a diameter of about 2 inches. The game target is preferablymade of a magnetically attractive material and the disc includes amagnetic material, such as being a vinyl coated flexible magnet. Thegame target can include a plurality of distance arcs and distanceindications on the face, the distance arcs and distance indicationsindicating distance from the opening. The game can also include aplaying mat having a length and a width and having a plurality ofdistance lines and distance indicators. Even further, discs and golfballs can be color coordinated.

The disc toss putting game is played by placing a game target at adesired location, the game target having a face with an opening therein;deciding a player playing order; each player tossing a disc from a disctoss location toward the game target, the disc being sized such that itcan be received within the opening; determining if the disc tossingresults in the disc: (1.) being received entirely within the openingthereby resulting in a hole score of one; (2.) being received on theface of the game target with at least a portion of the disc overlappingthe opening thereby resulting in a hole score of two; (3.) having atleast a portion being received on the face of the game target but withno portion overlapping the opening thereby resulting in a partial scoreof one and requiring putting from a first location; or, (4.) beingreceived without any portion of the disc on the face of the game targetor within the opening thereby resulting in a partial score of one andrequiring putting from a second location which is the location wheresaid tossed disc stops; and, putting a ball from the first locationuntil the ball is received within the opening, if said tossed disc hadat least a portion thereof received on the face of the game target butwith no portion of the disc overlapping the opening, the number of puttsbeing added to the partial score of one to determine a hole score; orputting a ball from the second location until the ball is receivedwithin the opening, if the tossed disc had no portion of the disc on theface of the game target or within the opening, the number of putts beingadded to the partial score of one to determine a hole score. Preferably,the first distance for putting is related to how far the tossed disc isfrom the opening, the first distance being greater the further thetossed disc is from the opening. Then, if desired, with or withoutmoving the game target, the player or players can repeat the tossingstep, the determining step, and the putting step as many times asdesired with each player's hole scores for all of the holes played beingadded to determine a total hole score.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention will be had uponreference to the following description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows the game target and playing area for the game of theinstant invention;

FIG. 2 shows a top plan view of the game target of the instantinvention;

FIG. 3 shows a rear end view of the game target;

FIG. 4 shows a front end view of the game target;

FIG. 5 shows a left side view of the game target;

FIG. 6 shows the game target and playing area where the playing areaincludes a playing mat; and,

FIG. 7 shows the game target face where the face includes distancemarkings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 1-7, the game and method of playing the game ofthe instant invention is shown. The following designations are used:1—playing area/mat; 2—golf ball; 3—disc toss location; 4—possible hazardlocation; 5—distance lines on mat; 6—distance indications on mat;10—game target; 12—top face of game target; 13—distance arcs on gametarget face; 14—opening in top face of target; 15—distance indicationson game target face; 16—back member of game target; 17—bottom edge offace 12; 18—top edge of face 12; 20—disc; M1—represents location wheredisc could land where disc misses the game target; M2—representslocation where disc could land on the face of the game target but notoverlapping opening 14; M3—represents location where disc could landwhere a portion of the disc overlaps opening 14; M4—represents discbeing received entirely into opening 14; d—the distance “x” in inchesfrom the edge of the disc to the edge of opening 14; and, D—the distance“x”, but in feet instead of inches, from the front edge of the gametarget to the golf ball 2.

The playing area 1 for the game could be any area in any location. Thegame can be played anywhere. A flat surface, an undulating surface, orany other surface could be used. For example, the game target 10 couldbe placed at one end of a room and a disc toss location 3 identifieddistant from the target 10. As an example, the disc toss location 3could be about 10 feet in front of target 10, or closer or furtherdepending on the skill or wishes of the players. The surface where thegame is played could be covered by a rug or anything else. The disc tosslocation 3 could even be at the top of a set of stairs and the target 10could be located at the bottom of the stairs. Location is totally up tothe imagination of the players.

The game target 10 can be left in one location and played multiple timesby the players, such as eighteen times to complete a round of golf.Also, after the players all complete a hole, the target 10 can be movedto a different location for the next hole.

Playing area 1, as shown in FIG. 1 could be an additional playing mat 1,such as, for example, a piece of outdoor-type green colored carpet as isshown in FIG. 6. The mat 1 could be about 12 feet long and 3 feet wideand include a plurality of distance lines 5 and distance indicators 6.The distance indicator “0” is where the bottom edge 17 of the gametarget 10 is placed. As shown, the distance lines 5 and distanceindicators 6 are every foot from the “0” indicator to the “10” footindicator. The word “TOSS” can be on mat 1 behind the “10” footindicator so that the “10” foot indicator is the disc toss line 3 andthe word “TOSS” indicates where a player is to be when he tosses hisdisc 20 at game target 10.

With particular reference to FIGS. 2-5, the game target 10 is preferablyconstructed of a light weight steel. Game target 10 has a face 12 whichhas preferable length and width dimensions of 12 inches by 12 inches. Ahole or opening 14 is located on the face 12. Preferably opening 14 iscentered left to right on the width of face 12 and is slightly abovecenter from the bottom edge 17 to the top edge 18 of face 12 on thelength of face 12. Assuming a 3 inch diameter opening 14, opening 14would preferably have a center 7½ inches from the bottom edge 17 of face12 and start 6 inches from the bottom edge 17 and ends 9 inches from thebottom edge 17, which is 3 inches from the top edge 18.

The game target 10 also has a back member 16 which gives target 10 aheight at its back or rear. When the target 10 is made from a steelsheet, the back member is formed by bending down, for example, a 2 inchportion of the steel sheet so that it would be transverse to a levelsurface on which target 10 is placed. In this situation, you would startwith a 12 inch by 14 inch steel sheet to form the target 10. The backmember 16 allows the face 12 of the target 10 to slope downward from topedge 18 to bottom edge 17 and has the opening 14 raised so that it canreceive a disc 20 or a ball 2.

The game is provided with a plurality of discs 20. In the case wheretarget 10 is made of steel or other magnetically attractive material,then the discs 20 preferably include magnetic material. For example,each disc could be a vinyl coated flexible magnet. The vinyl materialfor each disc 20 could be a different color so that the players canidentify their disc 20. Each disc 20 should have a diameter less thanthe diameter of opening 14 so that the disc 20 can be received entirelywithin the opening 14. With a 3 inch diameter opening 14, each disc 20could, for example, have a 2 inch diameter.

The game is played by each player taking a disc 20 and going to theidentified disc toss location 3. On the first hole, the players candecide who has “honors” and thus gets to be the first to throw the disc.On subsequent holes, as with regular golf, honors will go based onscores on the previous hole or holes.

The player with honors tosses his disc 20 at the target 10, followed inturn by the other players. All player discs 20 can be thrown at thetarget before any putting occurs or each player can sequentially throwhis disc 20 at target 10 and then do any putting as detailed below tocomplete the hole before the next player tosses his disc 20.

There are four possible areas where the disc can land. These areas areidentified by M1, M2, M3, and M4 and determine the initial puttinglocations, if any. If a player tosses his disc 20 into opening 14 and itis received totally within opening 14, location M4, then the playerscores an “ace” or a 1 on the hole and does not have to putt a ball 2 onthat hole. If a player's disc 20 lands at a location M1 not touching thetarget 12, then the player will place his ball 2 at the exact locationM1 where his disc 20 lands and putt from there. The disc toss counts 1stroke and each putt adds another stroke, so the player's score for thehole will be 1 (disc toss) plus the number of putts it takes the playerto putt the ball 2 into opening 14. As shown in FIG. 1, location M1 isto the left of target 12. With the slope of target 12, the player willhave to putt the ball to a location in front of the target 12 and thenputt the ball toward opening 14. Assuming that the player can putt theball 2 into opening 14 in 2 putting strokes, then the player's score forthe hole will be 3.

A player tossing his disc 20 can wind up at two areas on target face12—where the disc 20 overlaps a portion of opening 14, but is notreceived totally into opening 14, and where the disc 20 is touching atleast a portion of face 12 but does not overlap a portion of opening 14.The non-overlap location is identified as location M2 and theoverlapping location is identified as location M3. In the overlappingsituation where the disc 20 is at location M3, the player is awarded a“gimmie” putt, so the player's score for the hole will be a 2, 1 strokefor the disc toss and 1 stroke for the gimmie putt. In thenon-overlapping situation where the disc 20 is at location M2, theplayer will determine the shortest distance between the edge of theplayer's disc 20 and the edge of opening 14. This distance is identifiedby “d” in FIG. 1 and is, for example, measured in inches. Looking atFIG. 1, we will assume that the disc is about 2½ inches from the opening14. The player rounds the measurement up to the next whole number, or 3in this situation. Then, the player will go a distance D in feet, beingthe rounded up distance d. For example, where the disc was 2½ inchesfrom opening 12, the player places a golf ball 2 the distance D, or 3feet, from the front edge 17 of the target 10 and putts toward opening14. The player's score for the hole will be 1 (disc toss) plus thenumber of putts it takes the player to putt the ball 2 into opening 14.If the player putts the ball into the opening 14 in 1 stroke, then hisscore for the hole will be a 2.

If the players want a greater challenge, instead of putting from adistance D, where D, in feet, is the rounded up distance d, in inches,the players can double or triple the putting distance. For example,where the rounded up number is 3, the player can be forced to putt from6 or 9 feet from edge 17 instead of from 3 feet.

Also, the players can incorporate sand trap areas or other hazards likea lake, which could result in the player being penalized and having ahigher score on the hole. For example, assume that a player putts from 3feet in front of the target 10. If there is a water hazard 4 identifiedbehind the target 10, if the player on his first putt putts too hard andthe ball 2 goes over the target 10 and over top edge 18, then the playeris in the water hazard. The player would take a stroke penalty and againputt from the same spot as the first putt. Assuming that the player madethat putt (ball 2 into opening 14), then the player's score for the holewould be a 4, 1 stroke for the disc toss, 1 stroke for putt one, 1stroke for the water hazard penalty, and 1 stroke for the made putt.

The game target 10 can also include distance arcs 13 and distanceindicators 15 on the face 12 as seen in FIG. 7. These distance arcs 13and indicators 15 mean that the player does not have to measure how farhe is from opening 14 to determine where to putt from. The player simplysees where the closest piece of his disc 20 is to opening 14 and readsthe indicator 15 for that arc 13. That tells the player how many feet toputt from. For example, a disc 20 is shown on face 12 in FIG. 7. Thatdisc 20 is over 3 inches but less than 4 inches from opening 12 at itsclosest edge. The indicator 15 for that arc reads “4”. That tells theplayer that he is to putt from 4 feet for his second stroke. As seen inFIG. 6, the ball 2 is placed at the “4” foot line indicator 6 and theplayer putts ball 2 toward opening 14 in target 10.

If desired, the game can be provided with a plurality of discs 20 andgolf balls 2 which are color coordinated. For example, golf is oftenplayed in foursomes. As such, the game could include a blue, white, red,and black disc 20 as well as a blue, white, red, and black golf ball 2.

The foregoing detailed description is given primarily for clearness ofunderstanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understoodtherefrom for modifications can be made by those skilled in the art uponreading this disclosure and may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

1. A disc toss putting game, comprising: a. a game target; said gametarget having an inclined face and a back member extending downward froma top edge of said face, said face having an opening therein; b. atleast one disc, said at least one disc being sized such that it can bereceived entirely within said opening; and, c. at least one golf ball.2. The disc toss putting game of claim 1, where said inclined face has alength of about 12 inches and a width of about 12 inches; where saidopening has a diameter of about 3 inches, said opening being centeredalong said face width, and said opening being centered along said facelength at a location about 7½ inches from a front edge of said face; andwhere said back member has a height of about 2 inches.
 3. The disc tossputting game of claim 2, where said at least one disc has a diameter ofabout 2 inches.
 4. The disc toss putting game of claim 3, where saidgame target is made of a magnetically attractive material and where saidat least one disc includes a magnetic material.
 5. The disc toss puttinggame of claim 1, where said game target is made of a magneticallyattractive material and where said at least one disc includes a magneticmaterial.
 6. The disc toss game of claim 5, where said at least one discis a vinyl coated flexible magnet.
 7. The disc toss game of claim 4,where said at least one disc is a vinyl coated flexible magnet.
 8. Thedisc toss game of claim 1, where said game target includes a pluralityof distance arcs and distance indications on said face, said distancearcs and distance indications indicating distance from said opening. 9.The disc toss game of claim 1, further comprising a playing mat, saidmat having a length and a width, said mat having a plurality of distancelines and distance indicators.
 10. The disc toss game of claim 8,further comprising a playing mat, said mat having a length and a width,said mat having a plurality of distance lines and distance indicators.11. The disc toss game of claim 1, where said at least one disc and saidat least one golf ball are color coordinated.
 12. A method of playing adisc toss putting game, comprising the steps of: a. placing a gametarget at a desired location, said game target having a face, said facehaving an opening therein; b. deciding among at least one player aplaying order; c. tossing a disc by at least one player from a disc tosslocation toward said game target, said disc being sized such that saiddisc can be received within said opening; d. determining if said tossinga disc results in said disc: (1.) being received entirely within saidopening thereby resulting in a hole score of one; (2.) being received onsaid face of said game target with at least a portion of said discoverlapping said opening thereby resulting in a hole score of two; (3.)having at least a portion being received on said face of said gametarget but with no portion of said disc overlapping said opening therebyresulting in a partial score of one and requiring putting by said atleast one player from a first location; or, (4.) being received withoutany portion of said disc on said face of said game target or within saidopening thereby resulting in a partial score of one and requiringputting by said at least one player from a second location which is thelocation where said tossed disc stops; and, e. putting a ball from saidfirst location until said ball is received within said opening, if saidtossed disc had at least a portion thereof received on said face of saidgame target but with no portion of said disc overlapping said opening,the number of putts being added to the partial score of one to determinea hole score; or putting a ball from said second location until saidball is received within said opening, if said tossed disc had no portionof said disc on said face of said game target or within said opening,the number of putts being added to the partial score of one to determinea hole score.
 13. The method of claim 12 where said first distance forputting is related to how far said tossed disc is from said opening,said first distance being greater the further said tossed disc is fromsaid opening.
 14. The method of claim 12, where tossing step c,determining step d, and putting step e are repeated by said at least oneplayer as many times as desired.